Pepperdine Law Wins ABA Law Student Division Public Interest Award

The American Bar Association Law Student Division presented the Judy M. Weightman Memorial Public Interest Award to Pepperdine University School of Law at its Assembly during the ABA’s Annual Meeting in Chicago this past weekend.

“When the need arises, the legal community springs into action,” said Sarah Correll, incoming Director of Legal Education for the Law Student Division’s Council and a student at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. “Pepperdine was no exception this year. Seeing a need following the hurricanes that devastated Texas, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Florida and the wildfires in California, the school created a Disaster Relief Legal Aid Clinic. Students worked on FEMA housing aid appeals for clients and coordinated a network of volunteer attorneys and legal aid groups. The students also ran three field clinics in Ventura and Santa Barbara. Pepperdine reminded these lawyers why they joined the profession, and we commend their efforts.”

The Judy M. Weightman Memorial Public Interest Award recognizes law students and law schools who have made outstanding contributions to underrepresented groups and public interest causes.

Jeff Baker, director of Clinical Education, shared, "We're grateful to receive this award for public interest work from ABA for Law Students for the Disaster Relief Clinic. We launched this effort to serve folks affected by hurricanes in late 2017, and we ended up aiming it at California wildfires in 2018. It was collaborative at its heart, and community was essential. We discovered incredible partnerships (and friendships) at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Lone Star Legal Aid, American Bar Association, the California Bar, Ventura County Legal Aid, Ventura College of Law, and my clinical law prof people at Loyola-New Orleans, Texas A&M, Stetson, Miami, and Touro."